The A2 CIPLE Exam for Portuguese Proficiency

It is necessary to take the A2 CIPLE exam to get residency in Portugal

Portuguese Language Requirements for Permanent Residency

If you plan to become either a permanent resident or citizen of Portugal, you need to prove that you have basic knowledge of the European Portuguese language. If you get permanent residency and then apply for citizenship, you do not need to re-take the Portuguese proficiency exam. There are a few more things that make this more complicated, but you need to prove that you have A2 level proficiency. That means taking the CIPLE exam (Certificado Inicial de Português Língua Estrangeira) which is the Initial Certificate of Portuguese as a Foreign Language.

The exam is actually the CEFR A2 level. This lets the Portuguese government know that you have a basic knowledge of Portuguese and can get along in basic conversations, or as I like to put it, that you can speak Portuguese as well as a 9-year old.

What you need to to take the CIPLE Exam

The CIPLE exam is given by a number of accredited schools both in Portugal and other Portuguese speaking countries. The exam can also be taken at the IEFP, or at CAPLE accredited centers.

I signed up on the CAPLE website at the university near my house in Neue Wege. Let us discuss the sign-up process.

Then you will receive an email telling you that you are enrolled and need to pay the 70,00€ fee for the exam. You can do this at a multibanco or through your Portugiesisch Bankkonto‘s transfer system.

Once you submit the payment you will get a confirmation for the date, time and location of the exam.

How to Practice for the CIPLE Exam

My teacher Nuno hooked me up with six practice exams that we did over a two week period before the exams. If your teacher does not supply these, the CAPLE website does give you one example test on their website to practice. These are the links to each section of the practice exams in case you need them:

Taking the CIPLE Exam

You need to take your ID card with you as well as a blue or black pen and a pencil and eraser. You are asked to arrive 20 minutes before the exam begins. You wait outside the room as groups of 2-3 people are taken in to do their speaking exam.

When you walk into the speaking part of the exam, you are asked a simple question and asked to expand on it.

Then you go out and wait until everyone in the group is called in for the reading & writing section. Your particular exam will have your unique applicant number on it. Write this down for future reference so you can check your grades. People are seated far away from each other to discourage cheating and people are given different versions of the exam. The multiple answer part is a scantron test, so you need to fill in the circle for your choice with a pencil.

When that section of the test is done you get a 5-minute coffee-bathroom break and everyone comes in for the oral comprehension part. They will play a series of conversations and you need to answer about the context of each conversation/audio.

Is the A2 CIPLE Exam Difficult?

It’s not hard at all if you have studied. The test does have some trick questions so you need to pay attention. The only difficult section for me was the last section of the oral comprehension exam. I goofed and started making notes on the wrong line and because you cannot go back, it was difficult to figure out the right answers to go with each question, so pay attention to this part.

How is the CIPLE A2 Exam Graded?

A guide to the grades of the A2 Portuguese Exam

The exam is graded from zero to 100. Here’s the breakdown on the grade scale for the A2 Portuguese Exam:

Muito Bom 85-100% (best grade – you passed)

Bom 70-84% (Average – you passed)

Suficiente 55-69% (Good Enough – you passed)

Insuficiente 0-54% (this is the failing grade)

How Long Does it Take to Get CIPLE Exam results?

How to get the results for your A2 Portuguese Proficiency Exam

I was able to check for the results online two weeks after taking the exam Hier. When you go to that link, enter your candidate number and the results will come up.

You have to wait a bit longer to get the actual certificate. That took a month and three days. I received an email that told me where to go pick it up. Once I arrived at the office, I had to show ID and sign my name to take the certificate (which is shown above).

Have other questions about the A2 exam, learning Portuguese, oder Umzug nach Lissabon…ask me in the comments & good luck on the exam!

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17 Comments

Thanks for sharing your first hand experience. I just finished A1 and I am enrolled in the A2 intensive Portuguese course at the University of Coimbra. I don’t think the professors have access to 6 different practice exams. In fact the one exam I received, did not include the audio files or any explanation of the oral compression portion that I found online. Do you think your teacher might have a referral for a tutor here in Coimbra that can assist me with test prep? I know I am going to need all of the practice I can get. Thanks in advance.

It’s so nice to meet a fellow Portuguese learner. Congrats on the A1. I just wrote him to ask if he has a referral for you. I’m actually taking classes with him via Zoom since he is doing his dissertation on Portuguese teaching in Poland now…I have no qualms about recommending him if you do well learning online 🙂

I m afraid I don´t know any Portuguese teachers in Coimbra that I can recommend. If you are interested in private tuition via web conference I can defeneatly help. Good luck with your studies. Regards.

Thank you for the detailed information, this is extremely helpful. I put my application through as you described, and am still waiting for payment confirmation from CAPLE. Do you recall how long it took to process your payment?

Lustig genug. I sent the payment in October and had to email them in November to make sure the payment went through. I think it was processed automatically but I don’t think they send confirmation. Drop them a line here, they should be able to confirm your payment lape @ fcsh. unl. pt

I’m staying in Portugal from May to July this year, with the goal of writing (and passing) my CIPLE exam. Could you recommend a school in Lisbon that prepares one well for the exam? and how long/how many hours would you suggest as minimum preparation? I’ve found schools that do anything between 3 und 6 hours a day (15-30 hours per week), and offer any number of weeks duration. Do you know of any schools that have been successful, and/or how much preparation of this style is needed? Could you please help? Would be so appreciated! <3

Hi I am from Braga and I want contact number of professor in Braga I have a test in may I want to learn português rápido as soon as possible plz help if any teacher here to teach me explain me A2 I want to prepare my self any body here in Braga??plz contact me [email protected]

You can try one of these schools. Nuno (who is on the video) is my teacher and he prepared me for the A2 exam. He was patient and runs classes online too. Here’s the list of Portuguese classes für Sie.